//------------------------------// // When In Ponyville... // Story: When The World Bets Against You // by Tie RoamingHooves //------------------------------// The sound of a hoof hitting a partially filled coconut was heard coming from back. “Well, um yes.” the white mare said in a classy and refined voice while glancing around nervously. Brisk cursed herself for not cleaning up the mess earlier. Of course somepony was going to walk in. However, this mare was particularly familiar but Brisk Wind couldn’t quite place a hoof on why. The mare was a sheen white. Not as white as Celestia but a close second place. She had a purple mane with its ends curled as if it were done professionally. Her eyes were a deep and piercing blue which seemed to be analyzing every move Brisk made with curt indiscretion reserved to that of the Canterlot nobility. Why is this mare so painfully familiar? A name is on the tip of her tongue but she just can’t get it out. The white unicorn raised an eyebrow at her and she wondered why until she realized that she had a hoof on her chi- The hoof on her chin found its way into Brisk’s mouth as the realization hit her. It was Rarity, Element of Generosity. She briefly looked over to the unconscious forms of Cadence and the human. Nothing can be simple can it? She returned her attention to the element bearer in front of her and gave the best fake smile she could muster, which turned out to be horrible because Rarity’s gaze deepened. “... Is everything alright?” she asked suspiciously. Sweat began to roll down Brisk’s forehead. “Yes, everything is fine! No problem here! Nope!” she said quickly and failed miserably at hiding any of the nervousness in her voice. “O... K... then...” she began. “Are you sure everythings alright?” “Yup!” she said glancing down at the human in alarm as she started stirring. The human the found a comfortable position and stopped. She was now spooning the princess of love. The white mare rolled her eyes and proceeded to speak. “Ok, well you see I need to buy the best assortment of candy you have to offer. My sister, Sweetie Belle, is mad at me for being gone so much as of late and is driving a particularly hard bargain for me to make it up to her.” Rarity sighed and looked a little annoyed. “I‘ve argued this up and down but she has her mind set on candy from here...” The mare’s eyes looked up at the circular mirror in the corner which apparently reflected everything behind the counter. Brisk Wind sighed. “You are aware that Princess Cadence and a hu-” Rarity stopped mid-sentence because her words turned into something akin to a feral growl. Her eyes narrowed dangerously and her gaze shot to the bottom of the counter as if she could see through it. “I’LL END YOU... You... you... RUFFIAN!!” The pristine white mare lept into the air and towards the counter. Brisk Wind lept into action and she gave a good flap with her wings to propel herself to intercept the angry unicorn. Rarity however began glowing in a golden yellow aura. She was thrust to the ground before Brisk could stop her and was forced to overshoot and flew straight into a wall. Brisk clutched her head in her hooves. “Come on, Cool Ember! I had her and you know it.” “Well, I’d say you did too, but I really wanted to see you hit your head while I had to save the day again.” he replied in a playful voice. “I hate it when you do that!” “I know. That’s why I did it.” “Goddess, I hate you sometimes.” she said while pulling herself to her hooves. “I hate you sometimes too, now lets get on with it. Go put your armor back on while I figure out what to do with all of... them.” he said with an exasperated sigh. He was referring to the conglomerate of unconscious ponies in the room. Rarity was out cold too but that could be explained by magic. Brisk trotted into the kitchen and quickly put the armor back on herself while in doing so she felt a bit of nostalgia. This was the duo’s usual banter and it was one of the few things that made her feel like she belonged where she was in that particular moment. She sighed and felt a bit hungry so she trotted up to one of the racks with candy and grabbed one. She took a bite out of it. It turned out to be chocolate filled gelatin. It was nice aside from the horrid aftertaste it left. Nope. No more of these. She turned to reach for the next rack when she saw Cool standing in the doorway with an unamused look. “Stuffing your face again, I see.” “... I was hungry.” she admitted with a slight blush. “Well, put the food down. We need to figure out what to do. We can’t stay in a candy store forever.” Brisk Wind complied and backed away from the treats. She brought a hoof to her chin in thought for a brief moment. She looked around the kitchen and saw a door behind a shelf that held various baking ingredients. This would work as if it led to an alleyway it would mean they would have an easier time moving Cadence and the human without being seen. “Have you tried the back door?” she asked pointing a hoof at it. Cool Ember smiled and levitated the shelf out of the way. The two trotted up to the door and Cool opened it. It led where they needed it too The alley was paved with cobblestone and had various puddles under the gutters of the buildings. The entire alley was bathed in shade because of the close proximity of the buildings to each other. There was a cart parked next to the back of the shop which meant it belonged to the currently dysfunctional shop owner. The two of them exchanged looks and knew they were on the same page. Cool walked back inside while Brisk Wind aligned the cart with the back door. She completed the task and fluttered over the cart that now blocked the door and walked inside. She stepped out of the way to allow Cool to pass. He was dragging the human with his teeth and was levitating the princess with magic towards the back door. Once he passed, Brisk trotted into the front and turned the sign that read “Yes, we’re open!” to “Sorry, we’re closed”. She then trotted up to the unconscious element bearer and looked towards the door as Cool trotted in. He lent her a hoof by levitating the white mare onto Brisk’s back and she trotted through the kitchen and out the door. She placed the the mare in the cart gently. The armor clad pegasus chuckled when she actually thought about what they were doing. It was crazy and unlikely to work. But then again... it isn’t the first time they tried something like this and by far is not the craziest thing they’ve ever done. She momentarily had a flashback to them turning the Canterlot sewers into a makeshift cannon powerful enough to safely shoot changelings across Equestria. She chuckled at the memory before walking in to check on Cool Ember. He was trotting through the kitchen with a curtain in his mouth that he probably snagged from the front. She motioned her head towards the defunct candy store owner who was still messing with the mixing bowl. He rolled his eyes and his horn glowed causing the mare to slump to the floor. The two trotted out of the store leaving the earthpony unconscious on the floor. While Brisk shut the door, the default grey unicorn placed the curtain over them. His horn started to glow as he supplied a steady air current for those under the curtain to keep them from suffocating. Cool then looked at the pegasus mare expectantly. “Well?” Brisk raised an eyebrow. “What?” she asked. Cool’s eyes went to the cart and she knew what he wanted her to do. “Oh, no. Nuh uh. I’m not getting pegged with cart duty... not again.” “Well it’s not like I’m trying to concentrate on my magic or anything to keep them from dying.” the unicorn remarked sarcastically. “You can do both! I’ve seen you levitate half of a building while running with a cart!” The misadventure in question was during the fiasco with the changelings and Cadence. They had angered Luna, enough said. “Levitating part of a building and maintaining an air flow are two different things entirely! This is harder!” This brought her annoyance to a new level. “How could moving some air possibly be any harder than levitating at least a thousand pounds of brick and wood?” “I’m not going to sit here and explain magic theory to you. Just hook yourself to the cart, that’s an order.” he said with a sigh of fatigue. Brisk knew she was defeated and huffed. “Fine, you win this round, sir.” she said lacing the word sir with a slap to Cool’s face with her tail as she flew over to get to the front of the cart. It wasn’t anything complicated; just a wooden bar that was supposed to be pushed against with your chest. Simple, practical, and not frilly like a lot of carts are. Perfect. The mare was about to start pulling when a thought occurred. “Hey, I know we’re going somewhere but where the hay are we going to go?” “We’re going to get a hotel room somewhere and wait for the princess to wake up. After that she’d know what to do. I’m sure she has a plan.” Brisk nodded. “Yeah, ok I can work with that. It’d make sense. If she wanted to come here then she obviously had a plan.” she said in retrospect as she started pulling the cart. Brisk was pulling the cart in armor which made her a bit hot but it was well worth not having the town panic at the sight of a known fugitive. Cool Ember trotted alongside the cart with his horn glowing the entire way. Two Royal Guard trotting down street in midday while pulling a cart isn’t suspicious at all, right? After about five minutes, the duo trotted into what appeared to be town square. There was a large three story, circular building. There was a deck on the second story that was held up by posts that connected to the railings on the first. The building was in the middle of the round town square which was occupied by townsponies going about their business and the occasional group of foals playing some sort of game. They got an occasional glance but were basically ignored so far. They continued over a pink bridge when a grey pegasus hovered above them. She wore a mail mares cap but she wasn’t sure if this pony was truly a mail mare due to her crossed eyes. “Hai!” the blonde maned pegasus greeted in a cheery and upbeat voice. “Uh... hi?” the two armor clad ponies replied uncertainly in unison. “I’ve got mail here for Rarity.” the mare said. She reached her snout into her mail bag and grabbed the aforementioned mail. Cool took hold of it with magic and set it in the cart slowly. The mare continued to hover in place as awkward silence took hold. The mail mare continued her cheerful smile the entire time. After about a minute the silence was broken by Brisk Wind. “Um... thanks?” The pegasus seemed to accept this and put on a determined face and gave a swift nod before flying off. The two of them continued to stare in the direction the mail mare flew off in before exchanging looks. “How... did she know?” Cool Ember said while returning his gaze skyward. Brisk shook her head. “You know what they say: When in Ponyville...” “...buck logic.” the unicorn finished up. The duo started trotting again in search of a motel before one of the unconscious forms in the cart wakes up and makes this situation a lot harder than it should be. Alexander walked down a torch lit hallway. The stone brick walls were dusty and cold but he didn’t mind the scenery. It was a nice change of pace from the city. No sounds of cars bringing people to and from destinations... well at least not nearly as many. The compound had its share of traffic bringing mages and magicians to and from it to study magic and find new ways to apply it to everyday problems. He was a skilled magician himself, at least in the medical field though. Alex has devised spells that he knows are saving lives all over the world today. He also knows that somewhere... his daughter is out there finding a way to save the world. It fills him with so much pride to know that his daughter, Ashley, is going to save the world. But even so, he is still worried for her. She had volunteered even knowing the dangers. They told her she could die but she said yes without hesitation. The old man sighed. Whatever danger she is facing, she could probably handle it. She is the most powerful mage humanity has ever known. Alexander found solace in that fact and continued to walk. He still had duties to fulfill.